SOM student leader gains local, international experience

Edward Calderone didn’t have much of a chance to rest after graduating from the School of Management in May. He packed his bags and moved into a New York University residence hall, where he’s living this summer while interning in the assurance division of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

This is actually his second internship for the Big Four accounting firm. Last summer, he served in the internal firm services online marketing group. In the fall, he’ll bring his newly gained experience back to campus when he returns to pursue a master’s degree in accounting.

PwC has been a significant part of Calderone’s Binghamton University experience. The 22-year-old from Staten Island spent the past academic year as president of PwC Scholars, an honors program within the School of Management, which has about 140 members who excel in academics, leadership and professionalism.

Each year, the group engages in a community service project in the Binghamton area. Calderone oversaw construction of a native animal exhibit in the woods of the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park. This will be an area where children can view a variety of objects including animal skulls.

“The project cost $9,000, but we were able to raise more than $10,000, so that gives us a reserve account, and we can do things like work on the (Discovery Center) playground that we built last year,” he says.

In addition to serving the community, some of Calderone’s most significant experiences as a PwC scholar have come from the group’s annual weeklong international trips. Previous destinations have included Vienna and Prague. Earlier this year, the scholars traveled to Australia, which gave them the opportunity to visit a rain forest as well as the offices of Macquarie Bank, one of PwC’s largest clients.

“We get a flavor for international culture and see how accounting is done in other countries,” Calderone says. “In Australia, they don’t use American general accounting principles, but what they do is fairly similar otherwise.

“The best thing that people get out of (the trips) is the experience. That’s what brings us together as PwC Scholars. Each time we come back from a trip, the friendships are even stronger.”

Calderone was also vice president of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and worked in the school’s newly formed career services office. He looks forward to the challenges of graduate school and hopes to eventually parlay his experiences into a coveted job at PwC or another Big Four firm.